POWER March 2016 - 41

GENERATION TRANSITIONS
der Wind Farm in Rolette County, N.D., with
150 MW of capacity from 75 wind turbines,
for $300 million (Figure 1). The project had
been unable to line up a power purchase
agreement, according to the Star Tribune. In
November, Xcel bought the operating 200MW
Pleasant Valley Wind Farm near Austin,
Minn., for an undisclosed amount. That plant
had a power purchase agreement with Xcel.
Both plants were developed by RES America
Developments Inc.
The Star Tribune observed that " Xcel has
more than 50 wind farm power-purchase
agreements in Minnesota, according to state
data. " It is unclear which of these Xcel may
be looking to buy out and what the timing of
deals might be. Any future acquisitions may
require a green light from utility regulators.
Going Big (Only) on Solar
Xcel is also bullish on solar at large scale,
although not at smaller installations outside
of its control and balance sheet. Discussing
the company's second-quarter earnings during
a July conference call with analysts and
reporters last year, Fowke said Xcel views
solar " as an important growing component
of our resource mix. However, we want to
make sure that it's done at the most attractive
price point for our customers. " That means,
on Xcel's books.
Last March, Minnesota regulators approved
the company's plan for three big solar
installations, including a 100-MW project
near North Branch, Minn. Fowke said that
" Xcel Energy continues to be a major advocate
of solar. " In Colorado, Xcel began taking
power in late December under a contract
from SunPower's 50-MW Hooper photovoltaic
project in the San Luis Valley. Xcel
is already contracted to take power from
two other SunPower plants in the valley, the
19-MW Greater Sandhill plant (Figure 2),
completed in 2010 and the 30-MW San Luis
Valley Solar Ranch, which reached commercial
operation in 2012.
But the company remains careful about
embracing customer-owned solar power and
distributed generation. Xcel looks askance at
distributed solar, either on customers' rooftops
or in community solar developments
on economic grounds. (See " Solar Gardens:
A Fast-Growing Approach to Photovoltaic
Power " in the May 2015 issue or online at
powermag.com for more on community solar,
including an installation near Boulder,
Colo. See also the sidebar " The Battle of
Boulder. " )
Here's the economic issue as far as Xcel
is concerned. Utility-owned solar has significant
advantages of scale, as well as providing
assets for the utility's rate base. Customerowned
solar, by Xcel's reckoning, imposes
March 2016 | POWER
1. Wind leader. Xcel is ranked as the leading wind energy utility in the U.S. Among its holdings
is the 150-MW Border Wind Farm in North Dakota. Courtesy: Xcel Energy
2. Sandhill solar. The 19-MW Greater Sandhill solar photovoltaic plant has been generating
power in Alamosa County, Colorado, for Xcel since 2010. Courtesy: Xcel Energy
costs on the utility-and its non-solar customers-for
grid support and ancillary services
to keep the grid stabilized.
The company has been in a protracted dispute
with solar advocates and regulators over
Minnesota's permissive approach to community
solar and rooftop generation. According
to Fowke, " While solar gardens and rooftop
solar have a place in our portfolio as an option
for consumers, because they require heavy,
heavy subsidization on non-participants,
you'll see us advocate that the primary focus
be utility-scale solar so that we can keep energy
costs affordable for consumers. "
www.powermag.com
That puts Xcel squarely on the investorowned
utility side of a raging dispute in the
industry over the way to value distributed solar
photovoltaic power (see the October 23,
2015, post, " The Solar PV Economics Conundrum, "
at powermag.com).
Coal Remains Important
While Xcel moves toward its renewable energy
goals, it faces continued controversy over
the company's coal legacy, as coal remains
important to Xcel's operations in Minnesota
and elsewhere. Overall, Xcel has 25 coalfired
units at 12 locations (seven in Colo41

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POWER March 2016

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